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New tool to open blocked arteries without bypass operation

Recently developed procedure uses sonic waves to break up cholesterol buildup

Blocked or narrowed heart arteries is the top 3 killer disease in developed countries. The narrowing is caused by deposits of cholesterol in the walls of the arteries. These areas of cholesterol narrowing are known as ‘plaques.’ In the past, the treatment would have been a bypass operation. However, these days, the standard of care is ‘angioplasty’ commonly known as ‘stenting’ or ‘ballooning.’

This is a very low-risk procedure when a balloon is used to push aside the cholesterol and then a ‘stent’, a kind of metal tube, is placed to hold the artery opened.

This procedure may become a lot more complicated, however, for ‘hardened’ plaque, as Tan Chong Hiok, a cardiologist at Mount Elizabeth Hospital in Singapore, observed.

“Some patients may see a doctor late, for reasons like ignoring their symptoms, or not going for regular checkups,” Dr. Tan explained.

“Over time, say, three years or more, calcium gradually gets deposited onto this cholesterol plaque, making it rock hard. This ‘hardened’ plaque does not allow the balloon to expand.”

Previously, these cases would be treated by using a tiny drill. This is like a dentist’s drill spinning at high speed. It gradually drills away the calcium deposits. But the device can be cumbersome to use. The procedure also carries other risks such as tearing the blood vessels. “Because of these issues, some doctors may be hesitant to recommend this drill procedure or to perform it,” Dr. Tan said. The patient is recommended to undergo a bypass operation instead.

Technological development paved the way for a new medical procedure that offers a safer way to treat hardened plaques for these patients.

The procedure, called intravascular lithotripsy (IVL), involves using a balloon that delivers sonic pulses to break up the hardened plaque in the arteries.

Said Dr. Tan, who is among the first doctors to apply the technique in Singapore, IVL is a simpler and much lower risk device compared to the drill.

It is similar to angioplasty in that it also delivers a balloon to the site of narrowing. Instead of balloon just expanding and squeezes the plaque aside, it also sends out shock waves that crack the calcium like eggshell. This softens the plaque and allows a stent to be expanded.

Shock waves has been utilized since the 1980s to break up kidney stones into smaller fragments so that it can pass out in urine. In this way, patient does not need to undergo an open surgery.
This is exactly the same concept for IVL. Except that the shock wave is not delivered from outside the body. It is delivered inside the arteries when the calcium deposits are deposited.

As of December 2019, Dr. Tan has used the IVL device to treat eight patients. Other public hospitals in Singapore have also started offering the procedure.

For more enquiries, please contact our Patient Assistance Centre (Manila) at manila.ph@parkwaypantai.com or +63 917 526-7576.

90 Chinese, 2 Malaysians nabbed for violating lockdown guidelines

PHILIPPINE police arrested 90 Chinese and two Malaysians for allegedly violating health and safety guidelines on the coronavirus after law enforcers raided an illegal offshore gaming operator in Bacoor City in Cavite province on Friday.

Agents of the Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (CIDG) raided an apartelle in the village of Mabolo 1 in the afternoon of May 29, according to police.

The operation stemmed from a tip that Chinese nationals had been seen loitering outside the apartelle, said Brigadier General Rhoderick Armamento, CIDG deputy director for administration.

The foreigners were allegedly not wearing face masks and did not observe physical distancing. Village officials thought the building was a quarantine facility, Mr. Armamento said.

“They should not be operating yet because of the quarantine,” he said by telephone.

Acting on the tip, agents of the CIDG’s Anti-Organized Crime Unit raided the building. “The workers failed to provide pertinent records such as passports and working permits that could prove the legality of their online gaming operation,” CIDG said in a report.

The agency is preparing charges against the suspects for violating a law on illegal gambling and another that requires one to report certain diseases to authorities.

The Department of Health (DoH) reported 590 new infections on Saturday, bringing the total to 17,224.

The death toll rose to 950 after eight more patients died, it said in a bulletin. Eighty-eight more patients have gotten well, bringing the total recoveries to 3,808, it added.

Of the new cases, 338 had been reported late, the agency said. It said 218 came from Metro Manila, and 111 from the other regions. Nine were returning overseas Filipinos.

The presidential palace urged the public to observe health guidelines against the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) as the lockdown in Metro Manila is eased to a general quarantine starting June 1.

President Rodrigo R. Duterte locked down Luzon island in mid-March, suspending work, classes and public transportation to contain the pandemic. People should stay home except to buy food and other basic goods, he said.

The President extended the so-called enhanced community quarantine twice for the island and thrice for the capital region where coronavirus infections are concentrated.

Metro Manila and key cities and regions were kept under a modified lockdown from May 16 to 30, while some businesses were allowed to reopen with a skeletal workforce.

More people are expected to go back to work, when most parts of the country are placed under a more relaxed lockdown.

“Let us take care of each other by wearing face masks/face shields, maintaining physical/social distancing, staying at home if/when need be and avoiding crowded places,” presidential spokesman Harry L. Roque said in a statement.

Mr. Roque said the government cannot fight the COVID-19 virus alone.

Based on an order issued by an inter-agency task force made up of Cabinet secretaries on Saturday, Metro Manila, Pangasinan, Cagayan Valley, Central Luzon, Calabarzon (Cavite, Laguna, Batangas, Rizal and Quezon), Central Visayas, and the cities of Zamboanga and Davao were placed under a general community quarantine.

Other areas will be under a modified general community quarantine, or the “transition to the new normal.”

Barbershops and salons will be allowed to reopen starting June 7 at 30% capacity. — Gillian M. Cortez and Emmanuel Tupas, Philippine Star

Inflation seen holding steady in May

RISING FOOD and oil prices were major upside risk factors for inflation in May, analysts said. — REUTERS

By Luz Wendy T. Noble, Reporter

INFLATION likely remained stable in May, despite an uptick in some food items and a slight recovery in pump prices, according to analysts.

A poll of 17 economists by BusinessWorld held last week yielded a median estimate of 2.2% for May headline inflation, unchanged from April and slower than the 3.2% logged in May 2019.

If realized, this would be closer to the lower end of the central bank’s forecast range of 1.9%-2.7% for the month, and slightly slower than its 2.3% point projection.

The central bank’s inflation target for this year is at 2-4%, although it gave a 1.75% to 3.75% projection as the economy is expected to slow down due to the pandemic.

In the first four months of 2020, inflation averaged 2.6%.

The Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) is set to report May inflation data on June 5.

Analysts said the rise in food and oil prices were major upside risk factors for inflation in May.

“Timely data suggest fuel prices crept back up, while rice prices rose further,” Alex Holmes, an economist at Capital Economics said.

Oil prices have slightly recovered since the nearly 20-year low in April as major oil producers committed to reduce production by 10 million barrels per day or about 10% of global supply in May.

Domestic pump prices also jumped after the government imposed an additional 10% levy on imported crude oil and petroleum products, according to UnionBank of the Philippines, Inc. Chief Economist Ruben Carlo O. Asuncion.

Meanwhile, PSA data showed the average farmgate price of palay or unmilled rice edged up by 0.75% week on week to P18.81 per kilogram in the first week of May, jumping by 1.95% year on year.

Average wholesale price of regular-milled rice also rose by 0.88% to P35.40 per kilo, while the retail price inched up 0.11% to P37.90. For well-milled rice, prices slightly increased by 0.64% to P39.28 per kilo, while the retail price was 0.38% higher at P42.34.

A 60-day price freeze on basic necessities that began in mid-March ended on May 15. The rule covered basic goods including rice, corn, meat, agricultural products, medical devices and drugs, among others.

Some parts of the country saw a relaxation of lockdown measures during May, which may have boosted demand and led to some price increases.

“[M]arket activities slowly emerge from hibernation with the easing of quarantine measures in some parts of the country,” Security Bank Corp. Chief Economist Robert Dan J. Roces said.

On the other hand, Jiaxin Lu, an economist from Continuum Economics, said the pickup in prices of non-basic commodities such as alcoholic drinks and tobacco, restaurant and miscellaneous goods and services was unlikely amid crimped demand during the lockdown.

As the country continues to ease quarantine restrictions, analysts said the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) will likely have to wait to see the resulting impact of the reopening of the economy before looking at another rate cut.

“We expect the BSP to hold its monetary policy stance in its June meeting as it pauses to see the impact of measures already taken and look at high-frequency indicators to gauge the speed of recovery in economic activity as more segments of the economy move towards less stringent quarantine measures,” Thatchinamoorthy Krshnan, an economist at Oxford Economics, said.

For Mitzie Irene P. Conchada, an economist from the De La Salle University, the transition to general community quarantine is likely to boost consumer demand as well as investor confidence.

“The BSP might have to wait to see the impact of slowly opening up the economy before adjusting policy rates,” she said.

UnionBank’s Mr. Asuncion said the presence of some inflationary pressures may push the BSP to consider the use of its liquidity tools and likely hold off rate cuts in the second quarter.

On the other hand, some analysts say the central bank’s recent signals as well as the continued benign inflation point to a possible rate cut, although reserve requirement ratio (RRR) is likely to be untouched.

“BSP is expected to cut policy rates by 25 basis points at the June meeting given [BSP Governor Benjamin E.] Diokno’s recent dovish comments,” ING Bank N.V. Manila Senior Economist Nicholas Antonio T. Mapa said.

“Easing inflation will provide further room for the BSP to ramp up its monetary stimulus amid a weakening economy,” Continuum Economics’ Ms. Lu said.

The BSP has taken a pause in easing after aggressively slashing rates by a total of 125 basis points from February to April, which brought down the overnight reverse repurchase to a record low of 2.75% in order to provide support to the economy during the crisis. Lending and deposit rates have likewise been trimmed to 3.25% and 2.25%, respectively.

On the other hand, the RRR for big banks has been cut by 200 basis points in April to 12% to provide liquidity during the lockdown. Reserve requirements for thrift and rural banks were maintained so far at four and three percent, respectively. The Monetary Board said it can cut RRR by up to 400 bps for the whole of 2020.

The next rate-setting meeting of the Monetary Board is scheduled on June 25.

Analysts’ May inflation rate estimates (2020)

Analysts’ May inflation rate estimates (2020)

INFLATION likely remained stable in May, despite an uptick in some food items and a slight recovery in pump prices, according to analysts. Read the full story.

Analysts’ May inflation rate estimates (2020)

Economic recovery still uncertain even as lockdown eases

Shopping malls are adapting to the “normal” as lockdown restrictions ease in Metro Manila. Courtesy of Trade department

By Beatrice M. Laforga, Reporter

AS the lockdown eases in many parts of the country, experts are divided on how quickly the Philippine economy will rebound from the coronavirus crisis.

Starting today, the National Capital Region (NCR) and a handful of provinces will now be under a general community quarantine (GCQ), a move the government hopes will gradually restart a stalled economy.

“Since many areas are under GCQ in June, including NCR, prospects are better,” Socioeconomic Planning Acting Secretary Karl Kendrick T. Chua said via Viber when asked for his outlook on economic recovery.

Mr. Chua in May said he hoped for a V-shaped recovery this year, as more businesses reopen when quarantine protocols have been relaxed.

For UnionBank of the Philippines, Inc. Chief Economist Ruben Carlo O. Asuncion, the economy may face a sluggish recovery as business activity will remain lackluster as people continue to adhere to physical distancing rules.

“Without a vaccine discovery and its consequent administration to all population, it is difficult to imagine a V-shaped recovery. I do expect a sluggish recovery even as the economy reopens. We have to keep dancing with COVID-19 (coronavirus disease 2019) and keep it at bay as much as we can,” Mr. Asuncion said.

Ronald U. Mendoza, dean of Ateneo School of Government, said the recovery of the Philippine economy would depend on several factors including the health systems’ capacity to prevent a bigger wave of infections, and the psychology of consumers, investors and the rest of the population.

“The ‘psychology of recovery’ depends critically on our trust in the systems that we should have been strengthening during the lockdown. The lockdown was meant to merely buy us time to boost those systems — the surge capacity of the health system and the inclusiveness and effectiveness of the social safety nets,” he said in an e-mailed response.

Mr. Mendoza pointed out the government is only halfway in reaching its target to conduct 30,000 tests per day, while data remains unclear whether the country has flattened the curve.

As of Saturday, the Health department said total deaths stood at 950, while confirmed cases have reached 17,224. Total recoveries now stand at 3,808.

“Social protection is still catching up with the massive task of covering 18 million households (and now OFWs need help too), and up to 300 private hospitals have declared that they are at risk of bankruptcy,” he said.

“This suggests recovery may be tentative and fragile.”

Gross domestic product (GDP) shrank by 0.2% in the first quarter and is expected to contract further in the second quarter as strict lockdown continued through May.

The government is projecting the 2020 GDP to contract by 2-3.4% as economic losses is expected to hit P2.2 trillion due to the pandemic.

Business groups, exporters want corporate income tax cut to 20% by 2025

By Jenina P. Ibañez, Reporter

BUSINESS GROUPS and exporters are asking Congress to consider a longer transition period from the current tax incentives system and to accelerate the corporate income tax cut, in an effort to restore fiscal certainty to investors amid the pandemic.

Six foreign chambers and four other business groups on May 27 wrote a letter to Sen. Pilar Juliana S. Cayetano, the chairperson of the Committee on Ways and Means, to express their support for the reduction of corporate income tax (CIT) to 25% from 30% by July, and to propose the CIT be cut to 20% as soon as 2025.

The Senate is currently tackling the proposed Corporate Recovery and Tax Incentives for Enterprises (CREATE) Act which accelerates CIT reduction from the earlier proposal of a gradual reduction to 20% over a decade under the previous version called Corporate Income Tax and Incentives Rationalization Act (CITIRA).

Under CREATE, CIT will remain at 25% up to 2022, before lowering at one percent each year until it reaches 20% by 2027.

The groups asked for an additional five years to retain existing tax incentives, in addition to the sunset provisions. CREATE allows for a four- to nine-year sunset period.

The previous incentives scheme allowed companies to pay 5% tax on gross income earned, in lieu of other national and local taxes.

The business groups also said the 5% tax on gross income earned can be maintained after the sunset provision, if companies continue to meet conditions such as exporting 90% of its output and employing at least 10,000 people.

GRAVE CONCERN
The groups expressed “grave concern” about the Finance department’s proposal to tailor-fit incentives, saying it will aggravate apprehension from foreign investors that do not know what incentives they will be able to negotiate from the government.

Trade Secretary Ramon M. Lopez last week expressed his support for tailored incentives under CREATE, saying it will help the Philippines match other countries’ incentives packages.

The business groups believe that tailor fitting incentives can help attract foreign investments if they are done in addition to a minimum set of incentives, such as retaining the existing tax incentives for at least five years.

For existing investors, they asked for an additional two years on income tax holiday, and to increase the maximum period for this to 20 years for new investments in less developed areas.

The groups said the Fiscal Incentives Review Board (FIRB), which would be put in charge of approving incentives and overseeing investment promotion agencies, should have these expanded functions only after five years.

They recommended this because they believe this could help the country respond quickly to foreign investors moving their supply chains from China.

“Definitely, this is not the time to experiment and transfer the power and functions of existing efficient IPAs (investment promotion agencies) like PEZA (Philippine Economic Zone Authority) to a body that has no proven track record, much less, experience. We need to be agile and efficient at this point when companies are scrambling to move out of China.”

They ask that the FIRB be given authority to approve incentives only for investments over $500 million, noting that investment promotion agencies should retain their authority to process and approve applications under the strategic investment priorities plan.

Groups that signed the letter include the American, Australian-New Zealand, Canadian, European, Japanese, and Korean foreign chambers. The Information Technology and Business Process Association of the Philippines (IBPAP), Semiconductor and Electronics Industries in the Philippines, Inc. (SEIPI), the Confederation of Wearable Exporters of the Philippines (CONWEP), and the Philippine Association of Multinational Companies Regional Headquarters, Inc. also signed on.

“In such dire and challenging circumstances, the Congress faces a dual responsibility to provide for relief and stimulus to the population and to restore fiscal certainty to current and future investors, especially to foreign investors, during a period when major realignments of their Asian regional manufacturing footprint are underway,” they said.

The business groups noted the Philippines has not benefited from the shift of supply chains from China.

“(The country) has yet to be seriously considered as an alternative to Vietnam and India. BOI (Board of Investments) reports only a few dozen enquiries and a handful of firms deciding to relocate to sites in the Philippines,” they added.

The BoI reported that the country attracted almost P1.6 billion in seven realized investment projects that have relocated from China, most of which were approved in late 2019.

Offshore investors may avail of REITs through central bank

By Denise A. Valdez, Reporter

NON-PHILIPPINE residents are allowed to invest in real estate investment trusts (REITs) through the central bank, bourse operator Philippine Stock Exchange, Inc. (PSE) said.

In a memo on its website, the PSE said those residing abroad may participate in local REIT offerings by registering with the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) through authorized agent banks.

Following guidelines in the BSP Manual of Regulations on Foreign Exchange Transactions, the PSE said REIT securities are considered “equity securities issued onshore by residents that are listed at an onshore exchange.”

Thus, interested investors in Philippine REITs but are living abroad may avail of full and immediate repatriation of capital and remittance of earnings using foreign exchange resources of the banking system.

At least two Philippine companies have confirmed plans to launch REIT offerings since the guidelines were revised in January: Ayala Land, Inc. (ALI) and DoubleDragon Properties Corp.

ALI has a live REIT application with the Securities and Exchange Commission for the offering of three commercial buildings in Makati City, namely: Solaris One, Ayala North Exchange and McKinley Exchange.

The application involves the primary offer of up to 47.86 million shares, a secondary offer up to 430.78 million shares, and an over-allotment option of up to 23.93 million shares, each offered at P30.05, which would raise up to P15.1 billion in net proceeds.

DoubleDragon, on the other hand, has a plan to do an P11-billion REIT offering in the fourth quarter involving 200,000 square meters (sq.m.) worth of leasing assets.

The company plans to raise a total of P66 billion from REITs by doing an annual offering starting 2020 to 2025. It currently has 803,000 sq.m. of leasing assets and plans to keep expanding in the coming years.

The government has amended rules for REIT offerings this year in hopes of attracting property developers into launching the investment vehicle. The Philippines legislated its REIT law in 2009 but it failed to take off due to stringent requirements.

The Department of Finance believes REITs can fund property development to push economic growth. “We democratize wealth by opening access for thousands of small investors wanting to be shareholders in secure and profitable real estate projects,” Finance Secretary Carlos G. Dominguez III said in January at the launch of the new REIT guidelines.

House panel OK’s bill strengthening gov’t banks

THE HOUSE Banks and Financial Intermediaries Committee approved on Friday a bill seeking to expand the loan assistance program, rediscounting and other credit accommodation facilities of government financial institutions to help micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) cope with the effects of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19).

House Bill 6795 or the Government Financial Institutions Unified Initiatives to Distressed Enterprises for Economic Recovery (GUIDE) Act was filed by Quirino Rep. and House banks and financial intermediaries committee chair Junie E. Cua.

The bill directs the Philippine Guarantee Corp. (PGC) to expand its guarantee program for MSMEs by increasing the maximum loan guarantee coverage per borrower and reducing guarantee fees. To implement this, the measure mandates the government to increase its subscription to PGC’s authorized capital stock by an additional P20 billion.

The bill also directs the Development Bank of the Philippines (DBP) to expand its loan program for qualified MSMEs affected by COVID-19, provided that these enterprises are engaged in infrastructure, services and/or manufacturing businesses. DBP’s authorized capital stock will be expanded to P100 billion from P35 billion to accommodate capital infusion.

Land Bank of the Philippines (LANDBANK) is also mandated to expand its loan program to MSMEs engaged in the agribusiness value chain. Both DBP and LANDBANK are allowed to rediscount loans to eligible enterprises.

The proposed measure also authorizes the LANDBANK and DBP to create a special holding company to be named Accelerate Recovery to Intensify Solidarity and Equity (ARISE) to provide liquidity by being a “major player” in the financial and capital markets.

“For this purpose, the special holding company shall be authorized to invest or place funds in equity, execute convertible loans or purchase convertible bonds and/or other securities…as well as to incorporate subsidiaries,” part of the bill’s explanatory note read.

To ensure that funds are properly used, the bill imposes restrictions on companies to be invested in, requiring that the number of employees are not reduced by a certain level, limiting its ability to declare dividends, restricting the increase in salary and other benefits of the board officers and ensuring investments of LANDBANK and DBP are not diluted and time-bound with a definite “exit-mechanism,” among others.

Meanwhile, to ensure effective implementation, the bill grants tax exemption and reduced registration and transfer fees on the following qualified transactions: those relating to the loan assistance program, rediscounting and other programs of DBP and LANDBANK, including dation in payment (dacion en pago) by the borrower or by a third party; investment transactions of the special holding company and its subsidiaries; and sales or transfers of rediscounted loans/other credit accommodations, subject to a limited three-year entitlement period.

The bill also exempts any procurements of the PGC, LANDBANK, DBP and the special holding company from the procurement law for three years.

The special holding company will also be exempted from the government-owned and -controlled corporations (GOCC) Governance Act of 2011 and the Philippine Competition Act for three years.

The measure appropriates P55 billion to infuse additional capital to PGC (P5 billion), LANDBANK (P35 billion) and DBP (P15 billion).

“Enterprises, whether MSMEs or large enterprises, were heavily impacted by the disruption in travel and transport of goods and services as a result of the COVID-19 outbreak. These enterprises which belong to or operate in certain industries or sectors that are strategically important to economic recovery would require financial assistance in order to ensure their continued viability and, in turn, create a ripple effect to reverse the economic downturn,” Mr. Cua said in his explanatory note.

The measure will be transmitted to the House Defeat COVID-19 Committee for its consideration. Once approved, it will go to the plenary for debates. — Genshen L. Espedido

PSE reopens trading floor on relaxed lockdown

THE Philippine Stock Exchange, Inc. (PSE) is reopening its trading floor today as quarantine measures in Metro Manila are eased.

In a statement over the weekend, the operator of the local bourse said stockbrokers may return to the trading floor for operations in an effort to boost investor confidence.

“While our floorless or offsite trading from March 19 to May 29 has proven to be efficient and seamless, we decided to reopen and resume trading on the floor to convey a strong message to the investing public that things are back to ‘normal’ in the capital markets,” PSE President and CEO Ramon S. Monzon said in the statement.

“Hopefully, the optics of the reopening will contribute to the restoration of the general public’s much needed confidence in the recovery of our economy,” he added.

Metro Manila and parts of the country will be under a relaxed lockdown starting June 1 after calls from various stakeholders to restart the economy. However, the decision was amid a continued rise in local coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) cases, which stood at 16,634 as of Friday.

The PSE trading floor has been closed since mid-March to observe regulations in containing the spread of COVID-19. Brokers have since been monitoring market trading remotely.

Mr. Monzon said as brokers were pushed out of the trading floor, many had to rent alternative sites to keep operating during the lockdown period. Now that they are allowed to return, the PSE hopes it helps them recover from expenses for rental, employee board and lodging and connectivity costs.

As the trading floor reopens, the PSE will be observing safety regulations for those entering the building, such as temperature checks, submission of daily health declarations and required wearing of masks.

A one-trader-per-booth policy will also be observed, against the previous two to three traders per booth, to maintain physical distancing. Any form of gathering in the trading floor will not be allowed.

“The…measures may be inconvenient and troublesome but we trust the traders will understand and appreciate that all these are being done to safeguard their health and well-being,” Mr. Monzon said.

Should it find necessary, the PSE said it may suspend trading operations at the trading floor again.

Trading hours during the relaxed lockdown will remain shortened as observed since March: market opens at 9:30 a.m. and closes at 1 p.m. — Denise A. Valdez

About 10–15% of city land viable as urban farms

SOME 10–15% of the land area in cities could be converted for use as fruit and vegetable farms, the Department of Agriculture (DA) said.

Agriculture Secretary William D. Dar made the estimate while discussing a model urban farm project run by the Agricultural Training Institute (ATI) at the end of National Farmers and Fisherfolk Month.

The DA is pushing urban agriculture as a possible strategy to relieve pressure on supply chains after major cities were cut off from the food-producing hinterland during the quarantine.

“Many people live in urban areas and about 10 to 15 percent of those areas have enough space that can be utilized for the production of vegetables and fruits,” Mr. Dar said.

The model farm features edible landscaping and sustainable cultivation strategies suited for maximizing limited land in urban areas.

The DA’s Urban Agriculture Project involves the distribution of garden starter kits by the ATI and the Bureau of Plant Industry (BPI) as well as the extension of technical assistance by these agencies to households and communities.

“As of May 21, a total of 675,773 individuals/households and 62 local government units and institutions have received seed and planting materials from the project. More than two million individuals also participated in the training and advisories conducted by the ATI,” the DA said.

Mr. Dar also encouraged the public to raise poultry and livestock where allowed.

“During the COVID-19 pandemic, it is necessary to bring the opportunity of urban agriculture to Metro Manila and other areas of the country with the basic objective of ensuring household food security,” Mr. Dar said. — Revin Mikhael D. Ochave

Treasury bill rates to end sideways on rate cut bets

RATES OF Treasury bills (T-bills) on offer this week will likely move sideways on expectations that strong bids will continue and of a policy rate cut by the central bank.

The Bureau of the Treasury (BTr) will offer P20 billion in T-bills on Monday, broken down into P5 billion each for the 91- and 182-day papers and P10 billion in 364-day instruments.

On Tuesday, the BTr is set to borrow P15 billion via the 35-day T-bills.

ATRAM Trust Corp. Head of Fixed Income Jose Miguel B. Liboro said strong demand for the short-term papers will continue and will push rates slightly lower than yields fetched in the previous auctions.

Mr. Liboro said the market already considered the possibility that Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) Monetary Board will cut benchmark interest rates anew.

“We expect the auctions to continue to be well-bid with demand potentially driving yields on the front-end marginally lower. At current market levels, we believe that an additional 25- bp (basis point) cut from the BSP (down to 2.5%) has already been fully priced in,” he said via e-mail on Friday.

Noel S. Reyes, first vice-president and chief investment officer of the Asset Management Group at Security Bank Corp., said rates will also move sideways for shorter tenors and marginally lower for the one-year tenor.

“I think we could see sideways movement on the award rates for the 35-day to 182-day tenors. The 364-day may come out slightly lower still as the gap between this and 6 months is still wide vs. its mean differential. We expect these marginal moves as the yield curve has come off more on the shorter end than the longer dates already,” Mr. Reyes said in a text message on Friday.

The BTr raised P24 billion in T-bills last week, higher than the programmed P20 billion, as demand soared and rates declined across-the-board.

Broken down, it borrowed P5 billion each via three-month and six-month papers at lower average rates of 2.058% and 2.114%, respectively. It hiked the award of one-year securities to P14 billion from its P10-billion plan on strong bids. The one-year papers also yielded a lower average rate of 2.508%.

Meanwhile, the last time the Treasury offered 35-day papers was on May 19 where it raised P15 billion as planned at an average rate of 2.024%, down from 2.042% previously.

“The yield curve is now extremely flat and we feel the front-end (1- to 3-year) now offers the best risk-reward proposition, despite being fairly valued already,” Mr. Liboro said.

“While we believe that there is the potential for a retracement on the longer-tenor securities, liquidity is likely to keep short-tenor securities well-bid given expectations of BSP action,” he added.

The BSP Monetary Board has brought down interest rates to record lows after delivering a total of 125 bps in reductions so far this year to follow the 75 bps in cuts in 2019.

The next rate-setting meeting for the year is scheduled on June 25.

The government plans to borrow P170 billion from the local market in June: P110 billion via weekly T-bill auctions and the remaining P60 billion in Treasury bonds to be offered fortnightly. — Beatrice M. Laforga

Agoda hopeful domestic tourism will recover soon

THE ongoing pandemic has brought the tourism industry to its knees, with multiple countries imposing travel restrictions, halting flights, and closing accommodations to stem the tide of COVID-19 (coronavirus disease 2019) infections. But online booking platform Agoda is hopeful, banking on domestic tourism to pick up and recover long before international travel does.

“While we cannot say when the industry will fully recover, we anticipate it will be years and not months before things get back to the level they were in 2019, but we are seeing some encouraging signs of recovery in domestic travel bookings,” Agoda said in an e-mail to BusinessWorld.

In its latest earnings report, Booking Holdings, Inc. — of which Agoda is a subsidiary along with other booking platforms such as Booking.com, priceline.com, agoda.com, Kayak, Rentalcars.com, and OpenTable — announced “bookings for new room nights were down by 85% year on year in April.”

Things are not looking up worldwide as in an updated May impact assessment report, the United Nations World Tourism Organization (UNWTO), noted that the tourism sector saw a 22% decrease in international arrivals in the first quarter of 2020 with March, in particular, down by 57%.

“This translates to a loss of 67 million international arrivals and about $80 billion in receipts,” the organization said.

UNWTO forecasts that the overall decline for the year can range from 58% to 78%, which will mean putting more than 100 million tourism jobs at risk in what it calls “the worst scenario” — one which will put an abrupt end to a “10-year period of sustained growth since the 2009 financial crisis.”

Agoda, in a May 18 letter from its CEO John Brown, said it will be reducing its workforce by 1,500 while senior leadership members will be taking a temporary 20% pay cut starting June 1.

All of this is bad news, but Agoda is still optimistic about domestic travel recovering and has adopted measures to deal with the changes that will come once travel starts up again.

“We are seeing green shoots of growth in domestic travel in some key markets and anticipate that domestic travel will return before international travel,” the company told BusinessWorld, echoing the UNWTO report that “domestic demand would recover faster than international demand.”

“People will travel again, but there may be changes in how they travel,” Agoda said.

One of the changes, the company said, is there may be a need for more flexible booking options “in case [travelers] need to cancel in the last minute,” and so it introduced the EasyCancel feature which offers travelers free cancellation options should their plans change.

Agoda is also doing a campaign called GoLocal, focusing on domestic travelers and accommodations, to entice said travelers to “get the best deals they can when they are ready to travel,” the company said in the e-mail.

In the meantime though, the company compiled a list of virtual tours available online so people can still “experience the world” while they stay at home.

The tours it recommended are based on its travelers’ favorite destinations in 2019. The list includes a virtual tour of the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York (https://www.metmuseum.org/art/online-features/met-360-project) and virtual tours of the Namhansanseong World Heritage Center, Jeongak Pre-history Museum, and Gyeonggi Museum of Modern Art, all in South Korea (https://artsandculture.google.com/search/streetview?project=gyeonggi-1000-years-of-art-and-history).

In the Philippines, which placed 7th in the list of Agoda’s top destinations of 2019, the company listed a virtual tour of the Caramoan Islands in Camarines Sur (http://360virtualtourist.com/caramoan-islands/). — Zsarlene B. Chua

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